Borrowing Music
by Becca Stareyes
Summary: A modern epistolary tale of friendship and music, featuring Yamato and Mimi. Witness Mimi's difficulty getting one of Yamato's CDs to the US.


Written for the Digifriendship Challenge #1 at Livejournal, where it won first place.

Sadly, ff dot net's War on Punctuation has been eating my formatting, despite the workarounds. To read the full original, you can find it on my Insanejournal (invoking-urania at insanejournal dot com - use the tags to locate the fic.)

* * *

To: Ishida Yamato  
From: Mimi Tachikawa  
Subject: New CD  
Sent: 6:29 PM EST 15 January, 2003 

Hello Yamato, I was talking to Mikayo yesterday, and she told me that your band had finally recorded another CD. I found some tracks on your website, but it looks like they don't ship to the United States. I was wondering if you'd be willing to get me a copy? A lot of my friends here really like the CD I got when I was in town last summer.

How are things back in Japan, anyway? Michael and I have been trying to organize the kids with Digimon back here, in New York. There's a lot of worry about how people's parents will take it - a lot of the apartments here don't allow pets, so we have to explain that Digimon aren't pets, they're more like extra people living there. So far, there hasn't been any real problems. How are you all handling it in Tokyo, since it's the same kind of place?

I wish I could come back to visit before the summer. I miss all of you. I guess I'll have to keep in touch via email.

- Mimi

-x-

To: Mimi Tachikawa  
From: Ishida Yamato  
Subject: Re: New CD  
Sent: 21:30 JST 16 January, 2003

Hey Mimi,

I can sent the music to you electronically, if you have access to a CD burner. You do have one on that American computer of yours, right? I didn't think my music would be that popular in America, especially since it's all in Japanese.

Taichi and Koushirou have taken charge of that over here. Ken and his parents also have been helping out with the kids Oikawa brought into the Digital World. I think it's some sort of feeling of kinship. At this rate, he's going to have a Dark Spore Support Group meeting.

I didn't think about the apartment issue Ñ I know the places Ken and I saw in Mexico had plenty of open space for Digimon to roam in, but New York is more like Tokyo than Mexico.

How's the weather in New York? I heard it was cold there.

- Yamato

-x-

To: Ishida Yamato  
From: Mimi Tachikawa  
Re: Re: New CD  
Sent: 3:48 PM EST 16 January, 2003

Yamato,

I just went to America, not the darkest reaches of Africa. Of course I have a CD burner. And I can send you the money for the CD. You're my friend, and I imagine it's expensive to have a band. Just don't try to send it as an attachment. I don't think my email account can hold a whole album.

You're not a bad musician, so it's not surprising that it's getting to be so popular. I mean, there's a lot of American songs I like, even if I can't tell what the singer is actually singing. I'm willing to translate some things, though, so it's not a complete blind spot.

It's been pretty cold in the city, but I think it's finally warming up. It's been worse outside the city. I've been getting emails from Tatum about how bad it is in Buffalo. Still, Palmon says to add that she wishes she had a nice fur coat like Gabumon. And that she is a delicate hothouse flower who is not meant to endure the cold. She's been sitting in the window in my bedroom all last week, trying to get some sun. I wonder if I need to start taking her to a tanning salon.

- Mimi

-x-

To: Mimi Tachikawa  
From: Ishida Yamato  
Subject: Shh!  
Sent: 13:58 JST 18 January, 2003

Mimi,

Here's a link to the songs. Just don't tell the fans.

Seeing Palmon at a tanning salon with a fur coat makes me think that she's trying to be a fashion plate. Is New York starting to rub off on her?

- Yamato

-x-

To: Ishida Yamato From: Mimi Tachikawa Subject: Re: Shh!  
Sent: 12:03 PM EST 18 January, 2003

Oh, it's not working. Maybe you better just send me the CD via snail-mail. If the international postage won't kill you.

Well, she does like experimenting with my hair ties, and making sure her fronds lay just so. I don't think she's trying to impress anyone but her self. Good for her!

- Mimi

-x-

To: Mimi Tachikawa  
From: Ishida Yamato  
Subject: Re: Re: Shh!  
Sent: 19:14 JST 19 January, 2003

All right. I'll put it in the mail tomorrow.

Gabumon's been trying to take an interest in music, but guitars weren't really invented for Digimon. Maybe if my band makes it big, I'll see if someone can build a custom one for him. He'd make a killer drummer, though, but we don't really have any openings. One of the songs on the new CD is a duet for him and me, though. We're the first Real World band to have a Digimon sing for us. Unless you know of any one...?

- Yamato

-x-

To: Ishida Yamato  
From: Mimi Tachikawa  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Shh!  
Sent: 9:44 AM EST 19 January, 2003

Just that Michael says Betamon sings in the shower.

I look forward to it.

- Mimi

-x-

To: Mimi Tachikawa  
From: Ishida Yamato  
Subject: CD?  
Sent: 4:07 JST 31 January, 2003

Mimi? Have you got it yet?

-x-

To: Ishida Yamato  
From: Mimi Tachikawa  
Subject: Meet in the Digital World  
Sent: 8:12 PM EST 31 January, 2003

No. We're having bad luck, aren't we. Maybe we should just try meeting in the Digital World. I didn't know why I didn't think of that in the first place. How's Sunday at 9:00 Tokyo time? At Digitamamon's restaurant?

-x-

To: Mimi Tachikawa  
From: Ishida Yamato  
Subject: Re: Meet in the Digital World  
Sent: 15:20 JST 1 February, 2003

It works for me, but did you have to pick _that_ place?

-x-

Digitamamon's Restaurant had a bit of a reputation among Chosen Children thanks to the various stories told about how the Perfect-level Digimon had been involved with the original Chosen Children, and the Digimon was quite pleased to serve Yamato, Mimi, Palmon and Gabumon when they had arrived. Well, provided they had money, which Yamato groused at, but Mimi assured him that she had stopped before entering the Digital World to make sure.

"You'd think there'd be an easier way to do this," he said, as he took the CD out from his backpack. "Here you go, Mimi," he said.

"Thank you, Yamato!" Mimi beamed as she set it in her bag. "You know, it's funny," she said. "I spent so long missing all of you, and only being able to talk via email, but thanks to the Digital World, I can talk to all of my friends face to face. And here I'm using it to borrow CDs."

"What's so funny about that?" Yamato replied. "I'm loaning Taichi things all the time. Not to mention all the stuff Takeru borrows from me - without asking."

"You're right," Mimi said. "Hey, maybe the eight of us originals and our partners should meet more often. Besides the anniversary, I mean. Now that we can."

Yamato nodded. "I'll talk to the others about it. It shouldn't be hard to set up."

"Good. I'm glad." Mimi smiled. "I miss seeing all my friends."


End file.
